What is “Wear and Tear” or “Failure Coverage”?
Extended warranty contracts specifically exclude breakdowns that are caused by “wear and tear”. This means that if a part fails because it wears beyond O.E.M. factory tolerance, the warranty provider will not pay for the repair because the part did not “break”, it just “wore out”. Many warranties are strictly mechanical breakdown polices. As an example (Should a ball joint break and you are towed in, it would pay for towing (usually $50) and the parts and labor on the repair. If the other ball joint is diagnosed as out of tolerance but has not actually broken yet, if replaced it would not be covered under the existing contract.) With Wear & Tear or as some carriers designate it Failure Coverage, the out of tolerance item would be replaced at the same time at no charge other than the deductible.
